Welcome to 2020 - A Letter from the President
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Dear Member of Honesdale Golf Club:
Welcome to our 120th Anniversary Season of another wonderful year of golf at Honesdale Golf Club.
I will begin by acknowledging the vital importance of you. In the times of critical communication as concerns about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) continue to escalate around the world, we wanted to inform you of our actions we are taking to ensure the continuity of our services should the impact of COVID-19 increase.
The Honesdale Golf Club will continue to actively monitor the spread of COVID-19 to enable us to respond to this rapidly evolving situation so that our personnel remain safe and healthy.
We have decided to suspend all operations, until further notice.
We have instituted a Healthy and Clean Environment for the club house and kitchen, including educating our personnel and planning to ensure that our critical employees have the ability to effectively work remotely should the need arise.
The bar and food services will cease to serve at the golf club. Upon reopening, all hospitality team members will continue to operate a very clean environment with extra cleaning responsibilities of congregation areas. The hospitality services may experience shortages of some specialty drinks and certain foods, depending on product availability by our suppliers.
All parties and events of 20 or more members will be postponed at this time, until April 2020; unless otherwise instructed by Federal and State Governments.
Now, for something to look forward too, and news of our club. You may be surprised by some of what you are seeing out on the course and in the club house.
Starting in the club house, the board of director’s have taken action to proactively replace and have installed new insulation in the attic of the club house. The bid was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Orr Industries. The insulation installation will be completed this week, and we anticipate an energy savings around $400-$500 a month. We continue to study the replacement of the aging HVAC system in the club house and are striving to replace those systems in the 2021 year. We continue to work with HVAC engineers, designers, and installers to come up with the best plan for us as a club. Most firms have offered these services complimentary, and we truly appreciate that service.
Another area of interest of repair in the club house was the handicap entrance door to the dining room. The door was beginning to rust out as an aging metal door, and opened the wrong way to accommodate the proper door swing for wheel chair entry or egress. The bid was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Mesko Glass, which will complete the new door installation in the coming weeks.
These projects will be paid from our Capital Improvements Fund at a cost not to exceed $15,000.
Next, to the golf course!
As the temperatures are on the rise for an early spring in North East Pennsylvania, this does not mean the golf course and its grass are fully ready. We have been in daily contact with our Course Superintendent Chris Moran, and Golf Chairman Bob Simons with daily updates. We have found that our grass needs time to settle in, take root, grow, get healthy — before reaching “mid-season” form; just like our golf games. The “tarped” greens have faired the winter months well, and we will continue to monitor their strength and growth.
With this said, we need your help, so that we can help out our team to get ready in a timely manner. We will be holding a work day on Saturday, March 28, 2020 (Weather Permitting – Make-up Day, Saturday, April 4, 2020) at the golf club. We need help placing benches on the course, rolling back green tarps, picking up sticks that may have fallen during the winter months, and other jobs as seen fit under the direction of our Course Superintendent Chris Moran. We would meet around 9:00 a.m. and conclude around noon, with a lunch to follow to those whom help out.
The great news is, we plan to open the course and club house as soon as we can.
As the course opens, we ask that you respect the rules and regulations of the golf course in an early spring opening. If you see a sign that asks you to keep carts off the grass and on the cart path, please do what it says. Otherwise there’s a good chance there won’t be any grass to play on in July and August.
You may also notice ropes and stakes in areas that have been roped off before and where you usually walk without care. These areas of sensitive turf, new sod and germinating seed need protection. The grinding of cart tires and golf shoes (with spikes or without) will kill off in advance the good conditions you want this summer. So please, if it says “keep out,” then keep out.
Ropes and stakes aren’t there just to protect the grass. They indicate areas of turf that are soft, unstable and full of holes, just the place for catching your foot, falling and tearing an ACL or breaking an ankle. So, taking a “short cut” could result in a long layoff from your game. When you see ropes and stakes, think of them as a red light! Stop — do not proceed.
If you really want to help the course, fix ball marks. Not only yours, but any other you see on the green. (And trust us, you’ll see them!) Make sure you have a ball mark repair tool, and then, please use them. If you do see ball marks on the course, don’t blame us. They really are the player’s responsibility to repair.
We have an amazing golf course, and some of the best greens of the surrounding courses. However, we all need to work together to keep our course in perfect playing condition.
Finally, please thank our Superintendent Chris Moran and fellow team members every once in a while, for the terrific job they do under difficult, and constantly changing conditions. Say hello, strike up a conversation, and you never know what you might learn about our course. You might even get some helpful tips for that backyard garden you have at home.
Enjoy your game, enjoy your course, and welcome to the 2020 golf season! Our next board of director’s meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, virtually by video and phone conference (additional information will be sent out at a later date), in which we hope to discuss the new 2020 operating budget, expense reports, ability to charge on account, and other monthly chairperson reports.
As always, please visit our website at https://www.honesdalegc.com for more information and our new upcoming schedule.
Respectfully Yours,
Scott D. Miller
President of Honesdale Golf Club
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